Brenner's Wolves
by Red and Gold Phoenix
Summary: PART 2 UP! I come to the conclusion that I'll either have to find room with some of the men or simply not sleep. Mostly Lin/Brenner.
1. Days of Ruin

I'd like to take a minute to thank those who reviewed my other two fics (in random order): mirrors of illusion, driedup01parkerpen, Clockwork time (thanks for reviewing both), Samurai Ryo, keeperofthescarf, John234, VirusCipher, almightygimpyone, StellarStorm, spicebean, pyrokinetic punk.

Thanks a ton you guys! I really appreciate it!

* * *

The Rubinelle army, 12th Battalion, also know as Brenner's Wolves. We are soldiers, we are survivors.

We saw them coming, the meteors. In the middle of a reconnaissance mission I looked up into the sky when I noticed them. They were small, black dots at first, but quickly they grew. There seemed to be thousands of them.

By the time we made it back to the camp the battalion had already mobilized.

"Where!?" I remember my Captain had asked me franticly. No matter which angle I looked at him I could see the gigantic fragments of rock and ice hurtling towards our planet.

We were almost in the middle of a continent, no known fault lines near the area. We were not at risk to be swept away by a tsunami and assuming we managed to avoid being hit directly or too close to an impact site, we just had to worry about the resulting seismic activity.

"An open field Sir, that's our best chance." I remember how my voice nearly shook, I remember the fear in his eyes. I was unsure of how much time we had until contact, hours, possibly minutes...

He gave orders to abandon the recons and bikes and told the men to make room inside the tanks and rigs. He pulled me into his medium tank with him and our battalion moved out of the forest and into the wide open plain ahead.

We parked our armored vehicles close together and we waited for the destruction that would inevitably rain down on our world.

I had honestly never been terrified like I had been then. War was one thing, but this…would even one person survive?

"Is this really happening?"

His shuttering voice had uttered the question in my ear as he had pulled me against him. We sat huddled on the metal floor of the tank with five others.

"Yes." I had responded coolly.

Neither of us had family left. We are all we have. Actually, I am grateful for that. The one person whose life I hold any special concern…had been right there. Such was not the case for more then half of our men.

They had wives and children…

I'll never forget the sound that shattered my eardrums; the sound of the falling judgment.

I'm not exactly sure how we survived.

Now it has been little over a month since the initial impact. The sky is black with raised dust and the earth is hot from the meteors. I suspect the average global temperature has risen more than 10 degrees Celsius.

Brenner's Wolves have banded together. We travel across the shattered grounds searching for survivors. Mostly all we find are dead corpses, but there have been the few occasions where we actually managed to pull some living people out of the ruble.

It is for these people that my Captain urges us to move on. To not give up and to keep searching. I firmly believe that he is the sole reason our men haven't completely given in to despair.

He **is** the reason that the civilians travelling with us are still alive. It amazes me to see a man with such a powerful physique bend down and pick up a crying child with the utmost of care. His hands that could crush the small creature cradle the little body close to his as he somehow manages to calm the poor thing down.

While we frequently bicker about his beliefs… I respect them and understand him.

He says that "where there's life, there's hope". He tells that to nearly all of the shaking and terrified survivors he rescues. He repeats it to me every time I even hint at pointing out the seeming futility of our actions. I have to admit to myself that the more people we save the more I believe him. Those words never seem to get old to me.

And so, as always, I follow him into the waking hell around us. Even though the only virtuous human being I can see happens to be him. He disagrees with me, saying that all people are innately good. I respond to this by pointing out that if such were true, we probably wouldn't have been fighting a war when the meteors came down.

Despite my cynicism, I do share many of his beliefs, though I am not such a hopeless optimist. He is my Captain, and I am his second in command. I swore my absolute loyalty to him a long time ago. I will die before I betray him.

Despite our differences in opinion, I deeply respect him. There is nothing I would not do for him should he ask it of me. I follow his orders without question and I do my best to insure our success. I trust him…and why shouldn't I?

He protects me after all. He has always protected me. Likewise, I always take measures to insure his safety, I have to; the world needs a man like him.

And God knows he needs me.

The destruction is total, ahead are the days of ruin, but together we will keep fighting. We are Brenner's Wolves. We are soldiers, we are survivors.

* * *

Well, I had wanted to write a fic that encompassed the whole game chronologically but I just don't have the time. Instead I'm throwing all my little ideas into this collection.

If you've read my other two 'Days of Ruin' one-shots then you already know I am a die hard Lin/Brenner fan. I will also be throwing in some Will/Isabella. By the way if you have any suggestions or requests I'd be more than happy to take them. It's unfortunate that such a great game has so little fanfiction.

That said I hope you enjoy this one and don't be too put off by the lack of quality in this chapter. Consider it my warm up; its been a long time since I wrote the other two.


	2. Stolen

Okay…how about I get a couple of warm up chapters? Sound fare? Uggh, it's what I get for writing this instead of studying for my finals.

I disclaim all characters. They are Property of IDS and Nintendo. (Forgot to say this last time).

* * *

The wind blew in fierce gales as the snow continued to fall from the black sky. I figured it must have been at least 15 degrees below. Or perhaps, the speed of the recon moving against the ice wind was fooling my senses.

Paying little mind to the numbing pain in my arm and fingers, I reach forward and pick up the communicator. "This is the Second Wolf, hailing check-point A-15." I speak clearly into the transmitter.

"Roger that Lieutenant, proceed through check-point."

I curtly responded before returning my right hand to the steering wheel. Thanks to my years of experience I have little difficulty maneuvering the vehicle through the snow covered forest terrain. The great thickness of the pine trees completely blocked out the light from the moon, leaving me with only the recon's lights to see ahead. That wasn't a particular concern now that we are on our way back.

Going away from the camp had been much more troublesome; one mistake and I could have driven right through the ice and into a lake. However, the return trip was much safer; I made sure to lead my units back the way we had come.

I continue to maneuver around the sea of evergreens until finally I recognized the area where I positioned the 15th check-point. I smirk at my own success as the recon sped past the two medium tanks hidden masterfully behind two equally spaced clusters of trees. The two matching barrels protruded through the foliage, ready to engage the unknowing enemy. Of course, the men didn't need to be told to hide the massive barrels with branches from the surrounding trees.

I let my foot press down harder on the peddle. I am absolutely positive that even if the enemy managed to see our tracks, they would not be so fortunate as to see the tanks. A moment later our group of ten recons pulled up to the designated parking spots. I quickly jump out of the armored Jeep, cursing the pain in my frozen body.

I turn to the men and gave orders as I ignored the group of children that exited the large tent we had been ordered to park around. "Be back here in six hours for the next scout!" I called above the wind as I turned to leave.

I pulled my sleeveless uniform more tightly around me but stop walking when I felt something collide with my leg. I look down to see a small girl fallen in the snow. Huffing lightly I bend down and picked the small child up. I noticed the young children desperately pressing their cold bodies to the hot metal of the vehicle's hood and carried the little girl over to my recon.

I lowered the girl so that her feet met the bumper and let her go so that she could lean over the warm hood.

The child only looked at me as she slowly touched her skin to the metal, retreating a few times before her body could stand the heat. I suppose as long as they don't touch anything it's fine…

I turn to the men performing maintenance on one of the engines, "Watch them." I say shortly, gesturing my head to the group of children.

I turn around and head in the direction of a crowd of adult civilians, gathering by one of the large tents, suspecting to find Captain Brenner in the center. When they see me approach they quickly moved out of my way. I notice a couple of them shooting me warry looks.

Brenner stood, talking with several older men.

"Excuse me, Captain." I address my superior.

"Anything Lieutenant?" he asked seriously. It was noticeable that the lively chatter was quickly stifled by the man's question.

The Captain regarded me when I seemed hesitant to answer. He knows I do not like giving my reports in front of civilians.

"If you'll excuse me everyone." He said smiling as he follows me out of the crowd. It was common to find the Captain being bombarded with gratitude by the civilian population of our group. With the exception of the Mayor, I take pride in the way they have come to adore him.

"Report Lin."

"No threats detected sir, all check-points secured." I answer him swiftly. The Captain let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God, we've got enough on our hands with these conditions. I don't think we can afford to smother our fires tonight anyway at this temperature." He answered tiredly.

"Luckily we don't have to make that gamble sir." I responded.

The Captain nodded somberly.

"Not to mention we won't have to listen to that pitiful bastard bitch about the cold." A soldier, one Ryan Kaine called out as he passed us, a piece of bread in his hand.

"That'll do Kaine." Brenner called back. My mouth twitched into a smirk.

"Captain, I don't need to tell you that the way we have our units parked is a poor arrangement should we need to mobilize them quickly." I spoke crisply.

"I know Lin, but we need to block the wind with something." His words were quiet.

I detected something else in his voice, "Sir?"

"We lost an elderly couple tonight…Dr. Morris said it was the cold."

I regarded my Captain; a very large part of me wished he wasn't so compassionate. He'd get hurt a lot less that way. Then again, he does have me to balance him out in that respect.

"Anyway, I want you to get some sleep. Have you eaten?"

We've been together for a long time now; I suppose we've always tried to make sure neither of us passes out from exhaustion.

"I ate a while ago, but I do plan on getting some sleep before the next scout." I answer him casually as we stop walking in front of my shared tent with Isabella.

"Goodnight Sir." I say before opening the flap. The sight I see when I look in doesn't really surprise me, and I just can't resist rolling my eyes.

"Captain…" I wave him back over. For some unknown reason I know he has a good idea of what I'm about to show him. A rare smile graces my lips at the thought of how mercilessly I'm am going to tease the poor boy over this.

The Captain only grunts at the sight of Will and Isabella sleeping closely together under two blankets; one of which belongs to me.

_Well then_…

I sigh as I close the thick flap and stand back up. I come to the conclusion that I'll either have to find room with some of the men or simply not sleep.

Deciding the later would be a bad decision, I quickly make my way through the snow towards the tents our men slept in. I bow my head against the wind while gritting my teeth; I hadn't noticed how cold I was getting.

I quickly walk into the nearest one and survey the inside of the filled shelter. _Good, I know most of these men. _

"My bed's been stolen, who wants to keep me warm?" I ask coyly with a hint of boredom. For a second, the soldiers I had worked with for a long time only stared back at me.

"There's a spot for you here Ma'am!" One spoke up while patting the matted surface beside him a little too enthusiastically.

"Oh hell no, we can't trust you with her."

"Forget it, both of you, she's with me." Kaine spoke up.

I rubbed my temples in aggravation, "Alright, just move over already!" _Well, don't I feel loved?..._

I took one step toward Kaine but my Captain's irritated voice halted my steps.

"Fine, but make room for both of us" my superior says quietly. I noticed he had followed me in.

"Captain, don't you trust us?" One of the tank drivers joked, earning a strong laugh from the rest of the men present.

Ignoring the man, he walked out of the dimly lit shelter. I let my gaze linger on where he had been standing. He seemed a little distant tonight; he's most likely troubled by the two civilians that died.

"Guess not!" Ryan laughed, getting up to make enough room.

The Captain soon returned with two mats and blankets. I didn't bother arguing with him when he gave me his much larger and thicker items and kept Will's smaller ones for himself.

I have to admit that I am extremely comfortable resting on the thicker mat than usual, with a much larger blanket wrapped around me. The lights go off and I try to make enough room for the Captain to lie down beside me. Sleeping close to others has never bothered me; it was just part of being a soldier.

I quickly drift off to sleep, making a mental note to absolutely torture Will as soon as I get back from reconnaissance the next morning.

* * *

I suppose my OC, Ryan Kaine, has made another appearance. If you've forgotten, he first appeared in 'Tighter'. I think he'll prove useful in the future, it's always nice to have generics with a name.


End file.
